Rebuilding Trust in Media Through a Story Commons This episode of Decentered Media brings together Megan Lucero and Debs Grayson from the People’s Newsroom for a discussion about what journalism might look like if it were organised less around extraction and more around relationships, care and shared civic purpose. The conversation begins with the People’s Newsroom’s aim of building a storytelling collective and a story commons that supports a more regenerative future.

What might journalism look like if it worked more like a shared civic practice than a system of extraction? In this Decentered Media podcast, Megan Lucero and Debs Grayson discuss story commons, trust, participation and the future of independent media

Why Local Media Still Matters – Lessons from Academic Research In this episode of the Decentered Media podcast, I speak with Professor Agnes Gulyas and Simona Bisiani about their report, Challenges and Opportunities for UK Local Media: Insights from Academic Research. Our discussion starts from a simple but important question: what do we now mean by “local media” in a digital environment where the old boundaries of place, reach and audience are no longer clear?

Why Local Media Still Matters – Lessons from Academic Research

In this episode of the Decentered Media podcast, I speak with Professor Agnes Gulyas and Simona Bisiani about their report, Challenges and Opportunities for UK Local Media: Insights from Academic Research. Our discussion starts from a…

Distraction Therapy – Constellations of Meaning, Youth, and the Unlived Psyche with Dr Bret Alderman There are conversations that move in straight lines, and there are conversations that circle, return, and deepen. This discussion between Rob Watson and Dr Bret Alderman belongs to the latter. It unfolds less as an argument and more as a process of orientation, where ideas gather, disperse, and re-form into patterns that feel recognised rather than concluded. At its centre lies a simple but unsettled question: what is no longer being spoken about in relation to the topic of gender identity and the controversy that surrounds its social, cultural and political expression?

What happens when we stop treating myth as fiction and begin to see it as something lived? Are the tensions around identity, meaning, and belonging pointing to deeper patterns we’ve forgotten how to recognise? Thanks to Dr Bret Alderman for exploring these issues with me

Beyond Faith In The BBC – Public Purpose, Democracy And The Future Of Media Policy The recent Beebwatch discussion with Professor Lee Edwards of the Media Reform Coalition is useful because it reopens questions that are too often treated as settled. It asks who the BBC is for, how it should be held accountable, and whether public consultation means anything if major decisions appear to be announced before that consultation has been properly absorbed. Those are serious constitutional and democratic questions.

If the BBC serves the public, who defines that purpose? Should it sit beyond Parliament, or within democratic oversight? And in an age of global platforms, is the priority protecting one institution, or enabling wider participation in media?

Better Together in Leicester – Rebuilding the Conditions for Public Discussion Our recent Better Together workshop brought forward a set of concerns that feel immediate, but are in fact part of a longer and deeper pattern shaping civic life in Leicester. Participants reflected on the pressures facing local communities, from the monetisation of outrage on social platforms to the decline of local journalism, from weak digital literacy to the lack of spaces where people can meet across differences without those differences becoming points of conflict.

What conditions are needed for shared public discussion in places like Leicester? How do we rebuild trust after the events of 2022, while supporting plural voices and local media? Is there value in creating more open forums for ongoing dialogue?

Learning in Practice – Shumaila Jaffery’s Reflections from the Field What does it mean to step into a community media environment not as an observer at a distance, but as a participant embedded in its everyday routines? This discussion between Rob Watson and Shumaila Jaffrey reflects on that question through the lens of lived experience, research practice, and civic engagement. Over the course of her placement, Shumaila encountered community media not as an abstract concept, but as a working ecology of relationships, conversations, and shared activity.

What changes when research is shaped by participation rather than observation? This discussion reflects on learning through community media, lived experience, and the role of relationships in shaping how we understand communication and social life

Between Research and Belonging – Reflections from a Community Media Placement in Leicester It feels like just yesterday I started my placement with Decentered Media and announced my arrival in Leicester. Now, it’s time to leave – my eleven weeks in Leicester have been the most joyful period since I began my PhD in autumn 2024. Partly because the journalist in me is not dead; it never will be — being in the field felt like I was in my true element.

What happens when research moves beyond observation and becomes active participation in community life? How might community media help build trust, inclusion, and shared understanding in places navigating change?

We had an excellent discussion last night about social cohesion and community media. Lots more to be considered and developed. Thanks to everyone who took part 🙏🏻

Government Investment in Local News Is Welcome, But Renewal Will Fail Without Civic and Local Ownership The government’s new Local Media Strategy is welcome. After years of drift, DCMS has finally acknowledged that local news and community radio are not optional extras in public life. They are part of the civic information infrastructure on which trust, accountability, belonging and democratic participation depend. The announcement brings a new Local News Fund worth up to £12 million over two years, a doubling of community radio funding to £1 million a year over the next three years, and a stated intention to address “news deserts” where communities no longer have a dedicated local outlet.

What would it take for investment in local news to support new entrants, not just existing providers? Could civic society play a stronger role in shaping trusted local media, and how might local, place-based solutions emerge beyond central funding models?

Welcoming Local Media’s Place in the Social Cohesion Agenda The UK Government’s updated social cohesion policy, Protecting What Matters, is significant not only for what it says about confidence, resilience and shared civic life, but also for what it now recognises about media. The inclusion of local media, community radio and local reporting within this framework marks an important shift in policy language and, potentially, in policy direction.

The Government’s social cohesion policy recognises the role of local media and community radio in building trust and shared civic life. Will the forthcoming Local Media Strategy strengthen place-based journalism & community broadcasting across the UK?

'Tackling Communalism in Leicester in a Transnational World' – What’s the Role for Independent and Community Media? · Luma The Better Together report confronts Leicester with difficult questions about social fragmentation, polarisation and the erosion of common ground. It describes…

The Better Together report raises challenging questions about social fragmentation. Decentered Media is hosting a workshop at 6pm on Wednesday 18th March for people involved in independent and community media to reflect on these issues together luma.com/wb5xuyx4

Tough Times: A Gathering – Friday 20 March – Artworks Alliance In a period shaped by division and uncertainty, how do we sustain the work that holds communities together? ArtWorks Alliance, in partnership with UNION , is ho

A few places remain for Tough Times: A Gathering on Friday 20 March, 10:30am–4pm at Bridge Manchester. Don't miss the chance to connect, reflect, and explore solutions in these challenging times. Secure your spot today! artworksalliance.uk/tough-times-...

Women, Community Media, and the Work of Holding Communities Together in Times of Conflict How do women working in community media respond when their communities face tension or conflict? What does it mean to tell local stories from within the community rather than from a distance? And how can everyday communication through radio, local journalism, and storytelling help rebuild trust between neighbours when misinformation and misunderstanding threaten to divide them? These were the questions explored in a discussion recorded for International Women’s Day, bringing together women who are actively involved in community media and local communication projects. Sumaila Jafri opened the discussion by reflecting on her own background as a journalist who had previously worked in national and international newsrooms.

How do women in community media respond when tensions affect local communities? This discussion reflects on the 2022 unrest in Leicester and asks whether storytelling, radio, and local journalism can help rebuild trust & encourage dialogue across communities

The BBC Charter Renewal Should Renew Public Purpose Media, Not Just the BBC The current BBC Charter Review should not be treated as a narrow exercise in institutional maintenance. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport opened the present consultation on 16 December 2025, it closes on 10 March 2026, and it is intended to inform a new Charter from 1 January 2028, when the current Charter period ends on 31 December 2027. That timetable matters because it offers a rare chance to ask a bigger question than the one now being posed most often.

Should support for the BBC also strengthen the wider not-for-private-profit media sector? As Charter Renewal is debated, should independent, civic and community media be recognised as equal partners in a public purpose media ecology rather than remaining outside the system?

BBC Charter Renewal and the Liberal Questions We Are Not Asking The debate about BBC Charter Renewal is already becoming familiar. The BBC says it needs stronger constitutional protection, a more secure funding settlement, lighter regulation, and a renewed public mandate so that it can continue to act as a universal public service institution. Those arguments are serious and deserve to be taken seriously. But there is another side to this discussion that is receiving far less attention.

Are we asking the right questions about BBC Charter Renewal? If media is now diverse and abundant, does one universal institution still need exceptional privileges? Could reinforcing the old model risk solving yesterday’s problem rather than tomorrow’s?

Better Media - Open Collective Be the media, know the media, change the media

Are you interested in building a genuinely democratic member's organisation for foundational media in the UK? Support Better Media and be part of a growing network of changemakers opencollective.com/bettermediauk

The BBC Charter Renewal Needs Wider Public Voices The BBC’s Charter renewal is not a technical exercise. It is a decision about what the BBC is for, who it serves, and how it should be held accountable for the next decade. That matters because the BBC is not just another media brand. It is a publicly funded institution that helps shape how people understand public life, cultural identity, and the shared facts that make democratic debate possible.

BBC Charter renewal must not be an insiders’ agreement. It should ask what the public needs, how the BBC proves it is meeting those needs, and who holds it to account. The voices not in the room matter most if trust and legitimacy are to be rebuilt.

Nottingham hasn’t listed. What’s happened with the others?

Rebalancing The Airwaves – Reflections From The Better Media Consultation The recent Better Media online consultation sessions brought together practitioners, advocates and policy observers to reflect on two live processes shaping the future of UK radio: Ofcom’s licensing review and the DCMS Radio Review. The purpose was not simply to respond to technical questions, but to examine what kind of broadcast ecology the UK intends to sustain over the next twenty years.

What would a genuinely plural radio system look like in 2036? Can we diversify supply, apply a meaningful localism test, and treat broadcast as civic infrastructure rather than a legacy market? How should DCMS and Ofcom respond to consolidation and gatekeeping?

Not that I recall... Community Television didn't gain traction

Local Trust, Public Accountability and The Limits of Regional Broadcasting Robert Thompson, Interim Director of BBC Local has published a blog arguing that, in a divided world, local news brings communities together. That is an admirable aspiration. However, in Leicester during the communal tensions of 2022, the BBC was widely perceived as absent, reactive, and structurally distant from the realities unfolding on the streets. The SOAS report published this week…

If local media brings communities together, why did Leicester face 2022’s tensions without trusted, accountable local coverage? Should the BBC address its blind spots before Charter Renewal, and make space for genuinely local civic dialogue to rebuild trust?

Four UK reviews will shape radio’s future: licensing, regulation, distribution and the BBC Charter. Will they widen routes to market or entrench consolidation? Join our focused online session to identify practical reforms that support diversified, local supply

Radio Policy, Plurality and the Future of Independent Media

What kind of media ecology do we want by 2035?
Greater consolidation, or a socially grounded system?

Join a moderated online consultation for independent, local and community media voices.

Thursday 26 February 2026
2:00pm or 6:00pm

‘Tackling Communalism in Leicester in a Transnational World’ – What’s the Role for Independent and Community Media? The Better Together report confronts Leicester with difficult questions about social fragmentation, polarisation and the erosion of common ground. It describes how divisions centred on religion, national affiliation and identity were able to harden, while a shared civic purpose weakened. It asks how communalism can be addressed in a transnational world shaped by digital amplification and internationalised misinformation. For those working in local, independent and community media, this is not an abstract policy question.

Has local media in Leicester strengthened social integration, or mirrored social fragmentation? Join us on Wednesday 18 March at 6pm to reflect on the Better Together report and shape how trusted civic media can rebuild common ground in a polarised, transnational information landscape

‘Tackling Communalism in Leicester in a Transnational World’ – What’s the Role for Independent and Community Media? The Better Together report confronts Leicester with difficult questions about social fragmentation, polarisation and the erosion of common ground. It describes how divisions centred on religion, national affiliation and identity were able to harden, while a shared civic purpose weakened. It asks how communalism can be addressed in a transnational world shaped by digital amplification and internationalised misinformation. For those working in local, independent and community media, this is not an abstract policy question.

Has local media in Leicester strengthened social integration, or mirrored social fragmentation? Join us on Wednesday 18 March at 6pm to reflect on the Better Together report and shape how trusted civic media can rebuild common ground in a polarised, transnational information landscape

Epistemic Security and the Future of the BBC: Rethinking Public Service Media at Charter Renewal The latest episode of the Decentered Media Podcast brings together Rob Watson and Sameer Padania for a detailed discussion about the future of the BBC and the wider conditions that shape public service media in the United Kingdom. The conversation is framed around Charter renewal, but it moves well beyond the mechanics of governance to ask a deeper question: what kind of information environment do we want to sustain, and who is responsible for protecting it?

What does “epistemic security” mean for the future of the BBC? In our latest podcast, we explore Charter renewal, governance reform and whether public service media can still anchor democratic trust in a fragmented, platform-driven information environment

Radio Policy, Plurality and the Future of Independent Media

What kind of media ecology do we want by 2035?
Greater consolidation, or a socially grounded system?

Join a moderated online consultation for independent, local and community media voices.

Thursday 26 February 2026
2:00pm or 6:00pm

Spotlight Recording for UNESCO International Mother Language Day Saturday 21st February – Soar Sound On Saturday 21 February 2026, Soar Sound, the Evington Echo and Parallel Lives Network will host a live podcast recording session to mark UNESCO International M

How does your mother language shape who you are? Join Soar Sound on Saturday 21 February, 10am–2pm at Bishop Street Chapel Café, Leicester, for a live podcast recording for UNESCO International Mother Language Day. Would you like to share your story? www.soarsound.uk/spotlight-re...

Civic Futures Forum – Radio Policy, Plurality and the Future of Independent Media The UK is entering a significant period of review for broadcast radio policy. Ofcom is consulting on its future approach to broadcast licensing. DCMS has launched a wider Radio Review that will shape long-term distribution strategy, market structure and public policy into the 2030s and beyond. These processes raise fundamental questions about spectrum management, platform access, economic sustainability, content supply, and the balance between producer interests and the interests of citizens.

How should Ofcom’s licensing plans and the DCMS Radio Review shape the future of independent and local media? Join our Civic Futures Forum on 26 February 2026 at 2pm or 6pm. One session per person. Your perspective can inform the national debate.

Civic Futures Forum – Radio Policy, Plurality and the Future of Independent Media The UK is entering a significant period of review for broadcast radio policy. Ofcom is consulting on its future approach to broadcast licensing. DCMS has launched a wider Radio Review that will shape long-term distribution strategy, market structure and public policy into the 2030s and beyond. These processes raise fundamental questions about spectrum management, platform access, economic sustainability, content supply, and the balance between producer interests and the interests of citizens.

How should Ofcom’s licensing plans and the DCMS Radio Review shape the future of independent and local media? Join our Civic Futures Forum on 26 February 2026 at 2pm or 6pm. One session per person. Your perspective can inform the national debate.